BEST RESTAURANT FOR ROMANCE (1998)

Enter a beautiful Victorian mansion chock-full of fireplaces, candles, crimson walls, and cozy corners. Choose from among some 200 vintages of wine (about 20 of which are available by the glass), and then dive into a delicate array of wine-friendly dishes: Southwestern-cured gravlax with citrus crème fraîche; seasonal mushrooms, spinach, and mustard greens wrapped in phyllo and served with a vegetable salad in a chicken reduction; an unusual blue crab and buckwheat salad; curried magret of duck over bacon and pineapple risotto; a peanut curry seafood pasta. Also, look for falling prices and "wine gatherings"--the Vintage's own brand of low-cost wine dinners (about $15 per person) in which a succession of specially prepared appetizers are paired with the wines of a single vintner. The endlessly romantic Victorian mansion illuminated with golden lights, the summer patio under the moonlight--if love loves lovers, it loves them more easily here.